E-commerce fashion brand collapses months after Frasers takeover

MATCHES, an e-commerce fashion business that was acquired by retail giant Frasers in December 2023, has been placed into administration. The company was acquired by Frasers Group, the firm behind House of Fraser and Sports Direct, for £52 million from a subsidiary of funds advised by Apax Partners.

At the time of the acquisition, MATCHES said it would work with Frasers on a growth strategy for the business, adding it had seen “resilient trading performance despite the challenging economic backdrop” and asserting that the acquisition would give it “access to greater scale, best-in-class retail expertise and the financial stability it needs to more effectively deliver for our brand partners and our customers."

Frasers Chief Executive Michael Murray described the company as “a leader in online luxury retail” with “incredible relationships with its brand partners” and said the deal would “strengthen Frasers' luxury offering, further deepening our relationships and accelerating our mission to provide consumers with access to the world's best brands.”

However, less than three months later, the company has been placed into administration, with Frasers saying it had "consistently missed its business plan targets and, notwithstanding support from the group, has continued to make material losses".

The group continued: "Whilst MATCHES' management team has tried to try to find a way to stabilise the business, it has become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts that the group considers to be viable."

MATCHES was founded in 1987, initially operating as a boutique store in Wimbledon, London. The company subsequently expanded into a significant e-commerce operation, offering more than 450 designers and delivering across the UK and to 150 countries internationally, as well as operating three stores in London.

However, the company had been significantly impacted by a challenging global economic environment, reporting operating losses of £67.2 million in the year to January 31 2023, compared to a £37.5 million loss a year earlier. Its EBITDA losses, meanwhile, widened from £25 million in 2022 to £33.7 million. At the time, its gross assets were valued at around £170 million.


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